No Day But Today
by Aleatoire
Summary: No Day but Today - Edward has never told Bella he’s a vampire, and now she’s asking something he’s afraid of doing… So he does the only thing he can and tries to get her to leave. Will it work? Based roughly off the song from RENT. Oneshot.


**Sooo…Aleatoire's written another one-shot. A silly, fruitless way to occupy my time, but this one's cute. Total fluff and stuff, but I had fun. **

"Edward, I love you, and I think tonight's the night…" Bella whispered softly in my ear, and her warm breath tickled against my rock hard skin.

"For what love?" I played dumb, but inside I had put myself on red alert. I continued to kiss up her neck to her jaw, and then finally found her lips. She was being assertive tonight; she tried to persuade my lips open, but no way was I letting her near my teeth.

"You know what, don't try and tell me you don't," she giggled, and her laughter shot through me like a bullet. She was making it increasingly difficult not to give in…

But I couldn't do it. "Bella, darling, I…" What on Earth would I tell her? The truth would surely have her running right out the door, but anything other than that and she would just hate me. What could I stand? Fear, or loathing?

In my preoccupied state of mind she had started undoing my pants. I instantly grabbed her wrists and tugged them away, a little faster than I should have. "How did you…?" She asked, speechless.

"Bella, there's something you should know about me," I began, and she bridled.

"What?" She said coldly, her voice instantly changed. "You're gay? You have some sort of disease? If you don't really love me Edward, then just tell me the truth. Afraid I can't handle it?"

She was never going to believe the truth then. But, stupid, over calculating me just had to go ahead and tell her. "Bella, I'm a vampire."

This time she laughed at me. And I mean really laughed. She threw her head back as she sat there on my lap and just let herself go. Her long, mahogany hair reached down her back and brushed against my knees. "Honestly? Well then bite me Edward, prove it."

Bella was not a fool, and she didn't like being taken for one. So I would do as she asked. I took her by the hair and pulled her too me, as a human would do if he were being rough. I yanked her head sideways and bent down to her neck, letting my sharp teeth graze her soft, fragile skin. "Do it," she whispered, but her voice quavered slightly. If I did, I was sure to kill her. Her blood sang to me, essentially screamed at me to ingest it.

"No," I ran right out from under her and ended up in an armchair on the other side of the living room, to her eyes appearing not to have moved at all to get there. "If I do, I'll kill you. That's why I can't…I mean, we can't…have sex. Such close physical contact would cause me to go insane, and I would definitely bite you. Not only that, I'm much stronger than you, so your pelvis would be crushed." Why was I even dating her, if we couldn't do anything? I knew the answer to that: her blood and her mind enamored me. If it wasn't for that, I would have been with – shudder - Tanya. But Bella was a twenty-two year old woman; surely she would want to have some sort of physical relationship with me after dating for three months. Carlisle had been surprised I could handle the tension –

"I don't care," she said stubbornly, and I sat bolt upright. "Edward, I'm not normal. You're not normal, in more ways than one apparently. Normal men disgust me. You're so…different. You're a gentleman; you actually know how to make a woman happy _without _having a sexual relationship. And you've taught me the world isn't all perverts and egotistical men. I don't care what you are, and you haven't killed me yet, so I should be safe. If you think it's such a safety issue, then I won't bring it up again. But if there is way for us to do it and you're just putting it off…"

"So you believe me?" She nodded slowly, about to speak, but I cut her off. "Then know this: Bella, I'm one hundred and eleven years old." She started to speak again, but as before, I cut her off. "And I'm a virgin. So yes, I would love to end _that_, but since I've never had the experience, I have no idea what I'll do to you."

"Wait a sec," she began, "_you_, gorgeous, charismatic, perfect Edward Cullen, self-proclaimed vampire, are a virgin? Still? After…one hundred and eleven years? Wow, I guess virtue was an important thing back in the day, even to men. So you never even had a chance to have some fun with another vamp? Are there even others out there? Whoa, your family, are they…?" She twirled a piece of her hair absently as she pondered the idea. Her thoughts must have been bouncing around like crazy; I would never know for certain though.

"I don't want to scare you Bella, but yes, they are. And as for 'having fun' with another vampire, the opportunity was presented to me a long time ago, and I never took her up on it."

"She was that bad, huh?" Bella joked, but her eyes were wide as saucers. I came back to sit by her on the couch, and took her hand in mine. She flinched involuntarily.

"Yes, she was," I murmured, taking care to be very slow in my movements as I brushed her hair back from her face. "I'll understand if you leave," I whispered, and I felt her shake her head.

"I've dated you for three months, and you haven't once tried to kill me, so I figure you won't try it now that I know. But…do you…you know, eat humans?"

"Oh Bella, you are a treat," I laughed, and she looked a bit taken aback at my choice of words. "No, I don't 'eat humans.' I drink from animals, but it's not as good. Your blood -," I stopped midsentence, afraid to tell her part of the reason I was so in love with her.

"My blood _what_, Edward? Is repulsive?" Yeah, I wished.

"No actually, it's…incredibly desirable." The whole cat was out of the bag now, and if I wasn't careful, in a few seconds it would be hissing and spitting all over me.

I hung my head in shame, expecting her to yell, cry, scream, or do _something_ at least. But next I knew, she had come right up to me and attempted to lift my chin up with her finger. I allowed her to, shocked. "Edward," she murmured; her voice was soft and understanding, "its _okay_. I…I believe you, and you can't help your feelings. Just like how I can't help my desire for…well, you." She chuckled, and I just continued to stare at her in amazement.

"Bella, if you really want to, I can talk to Carlisle, see if it's a possibility-,"

"Shh," she put a finger to my lips and sat down on the footstool belonging to the chair I was occupying, "I'm tired anyways. Can I stay here tonight?" She said this meekly, not as if she was afraid of doing so, but as if she was afraid to ask.

"Of course you can darling," my cool breath breezed past her finger, which was still on my lips, and she shivered. I laughed. "But I have to tell you…"

"What now Edward?" She crossed her arms as she stood, but before she could take the time to look properly mockingly indignant, I had pulled her into my arms and raced to my bedroom.

"I don't sleep," I whispered as I lay her down on my bed, – I thanked God Carlisle insisted I acquire one, and doubly thanked Him Alice had picked out the appropriate bedding – a large one with gold and black sheets.

"Ever?" She fanned her hair out around her, a dark contrast against the gold of the pillow, and I sighed as I realized what she was lacking.

"No, I will never sleep again. Ever. But _you_–," I strode over to my dresser and stared at it frustratingly "-will, and right now you need some pajamas."

"Just find me a big sweater or something, I know you're not the type to own normal t-shirts-," She gasped as I threw a long, white t-shirt at her from my closet. "Harvard University, class of 1952? You're kidding, right?"

I laughed as she sat there holding the shirt up and gawking at the year. "No, I am entirely serious. That is my shirt, and please don't make fun of it. Just put it on Bella, it's only a shirt. And no, it doesn't smell like old people."

She muttered "you'reold, and it smells like you, so…" but I don't think she realized I could hear her. I turned my back so she could change in peace, and I even considered leaving the room, but her voice stopped me before I could move an inch. "Aw hell Edward, I don't care how old-fashioned you are, but you can just turn right back around and stare at me. Besides, I think I'm stuck." Indeed she was; she'd gotten her head into the arm hole of her blue pullover sweater. I think she did it on purpose.

"Silly Bella," I chuckled and walked over to sit on the bed beside her. I grabbed the sweater sleeve and pulled it over her head fast enough for it to appear blurred in her eyes. "There you go," I chuckled again at her shocked expression, and then turned to leave the room again. Surely she could remove her lacy black tank top by herself.

I was stopped instantly by a light touch on my bare elbow, and when I spun around I was attacked. The little kitten I was dating grabbed me by the collar and pulled my lips to hers fervently. I chuckled low in my throat, deciding I would allow her this. "Oh come on Edward, just take my clothes off. Nothing will happen…"

"Bella, I'm going to get mad at you in a second," I growled, but that only made her run her tongue along my lower lip, whispers of my name crossing her lips every now and then. "Isabella." I'd meant to say it in a commanding way, but it came out as more of a carnal growl.

She grabbed my hands, and in my less logical state of being, I allowed her to place them where she wished, in this case being her hips. She pushed them up the sides of her body, forcing her shirt to sidle up to her breasts; I couldn't help myself, and I slid my hands under her shirt, sliding them around to the clasp of her bra. I paused, and Bella groaned at my less than human pace. "Edward, please; nothing below the waist, I promise."

"I thought you were tired," I pointed out irrelevantly, as she _was_ panting slightly, but she could hardly be described as tired. My hands came to rest against her spine, the inviting clasp lying just within my fingers' reach.

"Yeah, well, not anymore," she retorted, her stubborn nature showing through since she was so intently in pursuit of physical love. "Look, I'll take my pants off myself later." We were sitting on my bed, nose to nose, bodies touching almost everywhere, and she was telling me she would take her own pants off. It was driving my sexually repressed mind clinically insane. She squirmed in my grasp, pushing her body closer towards mine; she swung one leg up and hitched it around my hip.

She was so warm, inviting, and I wanted every inch of her. But not tonight; I hadn't hunted in at least a week, and I _was_ going to talk to Carlisle before I went any further than 'above the waist,' as Bella so nicely put it.

I hesitantly took my hands off of her back, grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head. My God was that a mistake. Her bra was black, lacy and see-through in parts, and the color was striking against the pale cream of her flawless skin. Forget killing her, I was killing myself. _Come on Edward_, I urged myself_, get off the bed…_ And I did. Slowly but surely, I disentangled myself from her body and got up off the silky black quilt. Before I could let her convince me otherwise, I turned away from her alluring body and breezed out the door and into the hallway. To her, I would have appeared as nothing more than a blur.

I slumped against the wall opposite my room and pinched the bridge of my nose in my hands. I was mentally exhausted from keeping my self-control; she was lucky I was a vampire, with perfect mental health. On second thought, maybe my being a vampire didn't make her so lucky. These sorts of muddled thoughts just proved what Bella did to my head; in a way, she made me feel almost human.

"Edward?" I looked up from my disturbing reverie sharply, for once in my life surprised that someone was calling my name without my prior knowledge of their intentions. Bella was standing in the doorway of my room, my Harvard t-shirt billowing around her hips, making her appear smaller than she normally did. She was so young, so innocent…and here I was, a killer, ready to destroy her purity just so I could get a drink.

"Yes, Bella?" I smiled at her, and she smiled back shyly. One of the most endearing things about her was that innocence, and I swore I would never take that from her. She needn't be tainted by a vampire, the very representation of sin.

"Are you going to come back in?"

"Only if you don't attack me again love," I laughed, and she giggled, a beautiful sound. I followed her into my room and shut the door; the moment I did I was instantly wary of her every movement.

"I won't," she said suddenly as she was pulling my sheets down, "attack you again, I mean." Ah – she was nervous; her voice was shaking slightly.

I was over to her faster than I should have moved, and she gasped when she found her wrists ensnared in my hands so quickly. "I know you won't darling, but you have to sleep now anyways." I took her up in my arms and set her down under the covers on the other side of the bed. Then I crawled in beside her and hugged her close, again appreciating her radiating warmth.

We lay there silently for a minute or two, and I worried that she'd gone to sleep, until she asked, "Is that why you're so cold, because you're a vampire?"

I laughed, my breath caressing her neck, and what little hair that was there stood up. A shiver ran through her body. "Yes Bella, that's why. That's also why I never take you out to eat, or at least try not to, and it's also why you never see me when it's sunny."

"Wait – so you don't eat food and you'll die if you go in the sun?" I wished I could see what she was thinking: did this repulse her; did she find it interesting? I had no way of knowing.

"No, I cannot eat food, but I will not die if I step in the sunlight. I will show you what happens sometime though." Our voices were getting lower and lower, and I could only suspect that hers was so because she was going to drift off to sleep. "We also cannot die by being staked, or by having garlic or holy water shoved at us."

"Hmmm" was all she said.

After a few more minutes of tangible silence, I thought of a question. "Bella?" She muttered acknowledgment, "Have you ever…had sex before?"

"Oh Edward, you sound so innocent!" Funny, I'd thought her the innocent one. But she was thinking sexually, and I'd been thinking more morbidly. As in she's-never-killed-anyone-type innocence. "But to answer your question, yes." She visibly shuddered, and I wondered who it had been with.

So I asked, something I was definitely not used to doing. "Who was he?" My voice was persuasive and soft, but if she shuddered at the thought of the man…what had he done to her?

"Oh, just this guy, we were in high school, it was silly..." She caught sight of my face and left her sentence hanging. Sensing my animosity, she instantly reassured me, "Oh he didn't hurt me or…force me to or anything, it was just a rash decision on my part. We were dating, but I was going to dump him because one of my good friends liked him better than I did…and well, he panicked when he found out what I was going to do and then I felt bad for him, so…"

"Well that's a good reason to sleep with someone," I snorted, attempting to be nonchalant about the whole thing.

"Hey I told you it was rash, and I regret it now, alright?" Oh, she was so cute when she felt the need to be defensive.

I couldn't help it; I laughed. "I know Bella, I'm sorry, it's just…you're trying to be ferocious, but you just…aren't," I choked out in between laughs. It was like Jasper was here, manipulating me into fits of mirth. "You're like a kitten trying to be a lion-,"

And she was on me. Faster than I ever thought possible for her, she had herself straddled across my hips, gazing down at me with a fiery expression on her face. She crossed her arms against her chest, flattening my shirt to her body and effectively displaying her assets.

"Bella," I warned as I attempted to look my scariest, and she must have believed the expression because she rolled her eyes and moved off of me with a sigh. "You are most infuriating, do you know that love?"

"That's what I was going for," she muttered as she pulled my sheets up to her chin. She was facing away from me, so I sidled closer to put my arms around her.

She immediately turned around to face me, but I had pressed her so close to me all she could do was bury her head in my chest. Her hand came to rest on my shoulder, and I twisted my head to kiss it softly. She made a nearly inaudible sound of pleasure that sounded vaguely like 'mmm.' "Sleep Bella," I whispered, pressing my face into her hair. She smelled wonderfully of strawberries.

"Edward?" She leaned her head back to see my face, and I smiled.

"Yes, Bella?"

"I love you," she smiled back, her eyes fluttering as sleep attempted to claim her.

I chuckled softly and replied, "I love you too. Goodnight Bella; sleep well."

Then I kissed her forehead softly. Within seconds, she was asleep in my arms, an innocent kitten resting peacefully nestled in the claws of the lion.

**Fin. =) Awwhhh, cute! So kay, it started kind of like the Rent song, but I deviated from it, obviously. For instance, in the song there's that "who do you think you are barging in on me and my guitar" and I was gonna make that his piano, but it didn't really fit the story line. Well, maybe it could have, but I left it out. Oops. And I should not have been writing one-shots, I should be working on Back In Town or Times Have Changed or Convince Me for goodness sake. Oh well. **

**Hope you enjoyed this!**

**Reese =D**


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